Dhaakad

Razneesh ‘Razy’ Ghai's direction is very poor. He has shot the film very well. The product looks quite stylish. A few scenes are also well executed like Agni witnessing a wrestling fight, Agni masquerading as a fashion designer Amina and meeting Rohini, etc. However, most of the scenes fail to entice as the soul is missing. Some action and plot points are lifted from Hollywood films and also, and there’s too much action in the film. There’s no scope for drama or humour and as a result, it doesn’t give a wholesome entertaining experience. The director’s biggest shortcoming is that he doesn’t explain things to the audience. The twist in the tale in the climax is unexpected but viewers never find out the reason behind it. In fact, it’s shocking that something of this sort even got approved!

Saddled with a shoddily written character who is more overt operative than covert operative, Kangana Ranaut can only provide proof of her physical vigour and athleticism. With no time to die or even love – one of the saddest scenes revolves around the monomaniacal operative’s inability to respond to male appreciation – Dhakkad lurches from one Agni-on-fire moment to the next. Saving the world from gangs who prey on children and women has rarely been this lonesome, or uninvolving. The film briefly comes alive with the antics of Arjun Rampal, sporting a strange accent and a thick voice, and Divya Dutta, vamping it loudly as Rudraveer’s partner-in-crime. A lengthy action sequence in which Agni leads a team of commandos into Rudraveer’s lair is among the better choreographed set-pieces in a film that fires in all directions but frequently misses its targets.

If the film’s first 20-odd minutes are rip-offs of Hollywood’s assembly line action thrillers, where people kill and die before you have even settled down for your popcorn, Dhaakad’s last 20 are an exercise in overkill. That the middle holds so well is a tribute to its actors, its efforts at giving us some human characters, and its story that trots along nicely (credit to debutant director and co-screenwriter Razneesh Ghai). At one place, we come to know of a medical condition where a person’s heart is tilted more towards the right than normal, which saves their life. Dhaakad has its heart in the right place.

With a runtime of just two hours and ten minutes, the film starts feeling a bit long, especially in the third act where things feel a bit repetitive. It’s pacy, smart, subversive, and knocked out with such verve and attack that you’re not in the least bit bothered by how far-fetched it all is. Some action portions feel a bit unreal and in some places, even simplistic). The filmmaker somewhere fails to allow the audience to think much. They just have to sit back, go with the flow, flabby and clunky in bits, and admire Ranaut blazing on the screen.

As the story moves ahead and events unfold to acquaint us to Agni's tragic background, you want to feel attached to her, but you feel nothing. Not because I am cold-hearted, it's just that it doesn’t hit home. Even though Agni nails the action sequences, her character isn't well-sketched. The film is mores style than substance. Even though Agni delivers blows and wields guns with much ease, but the dull script, weak characterisation and direction ensure that the movie never takes off. The script falls short in the story line and screenplay. This 2 hour and 10 minute-long movie felt longer than it actually is. Sharib Hashmi, Agni’s work associate, and Saswata Chatterjee play their roles with ease. Dhaakad’s climax also does nothing for the film because it lacks logic and sounds laughable.